But I'm a Cheerleader - Film Review

But I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 romantic comedy about a young girl called Megan who gets sent to conversion therapy after everyone in her life suspects that she is a lesbian. Despite everyone's attempts to convert Megan, she soon starts to have feelings for a rebellious unashamed lesbian called Graham. I personally loved this film, I thought that the comedy and romance aspects of it were wonderful and they surprisingly handled the serious topic of conversion therapy in a whimsical way.

The plot
As mentioned previously the story's focus is the romantic relationship between Megan and Graham. The build up to the final reveal of their relationship had me advocating for the two of them throughout. Most rom-coms are focused on a heterosexual couple (even in 2024) and when LGBTQ+ characters are shown they are usually a side character who plays into stereotypes. However, the only part of 'But I'm a Cheerleader' which strays away from the usual conventions is the aspect of sexuality, every other cliché is involved. For example, the movie includes two contrasting characters who eventually fall in love (Megan and Graham), an event which conflicts with their relationship (Megan leaving the conversion boot camp) and an ending scene including someone committing a large romantic act (Megan interrupting the graduation ceremony). Every single Rom-com includes these conventions and I was very pleased when But I'm a cheerleader included them too, as the film could have easily taken a different path which did make the film completely different or even conform to sexuality stereotypes.

The opening sequence of the film begins as does any typical teen centred rom-com with the beautiful blonde cheerleader girlfriend and her popular jock boyfriend. However, this quickly changes as soon as we see Megan and her boyfriend kissing in the car and she starts to think about other girls. I mean firstly if any man tried to kiss me like Jared did I also think I would start to question my sexuality! I think that the opening scene was honestly perfect as it quickly destroyed any preconceived judgments that the audience make, solely due to the mass amount of typical conventions used across other rom-coms.

One of my favourite scenes is when Megan realises and admits that she is in fact a lesbian, everything about it is so good to me. The colouring, costuming, setting and the way its filmed makes the whole scene feel like its a lucid dream. I also like the constant cuts between Megan and the other 'students' as she is trying to convince them and herself that she is straight, it adds a comical effect as they all know the truth. One of my favourite lines from the film which is in this scene is "I get good grades! I go to church! I'm a cheerleader!". I think that it perfectly fits into the whole scene as Megan is honestly trying to convince herself that she is not a lesbian by using classic stereotypes surrounding sexuality stereotypes. However, she soon quickly accepts the truth by shouting "I'm a homosexual", this line truly brings the whole scene together as the audience get to see a young girl begin to explore her sexuality despite being in a conversion boot camp. The way Natasha Lyonne delivers the line so dramatically may be one of my favourite aspects as its adds a comical effect but it also shows how important and almost transformative it is to realise something new about yourself such as sexuality.

Representation
Throughout the whole of the rom-com genre there are only a few with LGBTQ+ main characters and there are even fewer that do as well as main stream heterosexual rom-coms do. However, 'But I'm a Cheerleader' has become a successful and loved movie with a 4.7/5 rating on google, despite the criticism from conservative audiences when first released in 1999. The film does include typical stereotypes of homosexual people especially gay men, for example RuPaul's character, which is a major reflection of the time it was created. However, it is also easy to argue that the movie was ahead of its time due to it's positive representation of LGBTQ+ members. For example, the main character Megan does not fit the stereotypical looks associated with lesbians (short hair, masculine clothing, sport lovers) instead she explicitly reflects the stereotypical popular and often mean girl character. Similarly, Jan checks the boxes of lesbian stereotypes, she has short hair and loves sports. However, it is later revealed that Jan is not in fact a lesbian she is just a (straight) girl who loves sports and has a love for sport. Jan's reveal makes the audience reflect on their initial judgments based on stereotypes. The whole movie is full of people who subvert societal stereotypes created by individuals to prevent people from individually expressing themselves, the film actively challenges them and often makes the audience question the stereotypes that they know and may potentially believe.

Criticism of Conversion therapy
The entirety of 'But I'm a Cheerleader' is poking fun at conversion therapies, there are numerous scenes that show the absurdity that some therapies include. For example some of the teens are tasered, one of them is even sent to the dog house (a literal dog house!) and they all have to undergo a final exam proving they are 'cured' and are now straight. All of these aspects actively criticise the numerous methods used at Conversion therapy. The movie is successfully able to deal with serious issues ,such as conversion therapy and homophobia, in a humerous and light hearted way. I think one of my favourite parts is that fact that it is very clear that the boot camp is meant to over dramatized and shown as 'camp' but the methods that Mary Brown (the owner of 'True Directions') uses throughout the movie are not dramatized at all, they are probably the most (unfortunately) realistic aspect of the whole film. The film clearly takes a strong stance against the use of conversion therapy and has the main message of finding inner strength to accept who you are and love who ever.

Overall
Obviously this film isn't perfect as it does include sexuality stereotypes however it is still incredibly progressive especially considering time it was made. I think for me the overall love story between Megan and Graham is what makes it amazing for me. Their relationship is so genuine and sweet, it is all a person could look for. And I adore the fact that they got their happy ending together and didn't have to conform to the limitations that society placed upon them. I also love the fact that the movie doesn't use LGBTQ+ as 'token' or pity characters ,the plot is centred around them which is not seen as often in mainstream film. It's a great film that successfully approaches the homophobic and negative ideologies and views that are commonly held by poking fun at them through a satirical representation of them.